Swansea head coach Luke Williams struggled to hide his frustration after the Whites went down to a 1-0 Sky Bet Championship defeat to Plymouth.
Morgan Whittaker struck the only goal of the game after 18 minutes – his ninth in his last 10 games as Argyle made it six games without defeat.
Back-to-back Championship defeats and a fourth loss in a row in all competitions leaves Swansea head coach Luke Williams still searching for his first league win since he took charge.
It also leaves the Swans just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Williams said: “I am frustrated that we didn’t turn really good actions into goals. When you create 19 chances and at least four of them are in the six-yard box, there’s not an excuse to not win the game.
“What is it that’s wrong with those chances? For me, nothing. It’s just concentration, finish the action correctly and we’ll win the game of football.
“The goal we conceded, we lose concentration again from a long ball forward. Whittaker hits the shot that leads to the corner. Then, from the corner we switch off, the player gets blocked and it’s a good strike.
“It’s unfair that he (Ronald) doesn’t have at least one assist. We tried to make it clear what his role is.
“We have had a few guys to interpret on the training pitch and I am really happy because he didn’t try to do his own thing or show off.
“He just tried to play in the game I asked him to play it – so much energy, so many runs in behind. So many players don’t want to do that because it’s hard, you have to keep sprinting and then you have to provide for someone else.
“I want him to feed the striker. I am happy with him.
“I don’t like that (relegation situation), of course I don’t like that. We need to concentrate on trying to play really well.
“If we can create 19 chances every week and create openings in the six-yard box, we’d have to be a very unlucky team to suffer more.
“We have some tough fixtures but that’s the job. There’s no sulking or feeling sorry for myself.”
Plymouth head coach Ian Foster was glad to see his side grind out a victory.
He said: “In my short time at the club, we have had to find a way of winning on the road. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to do that.
“Our challenge is to maintain the attacking threat we have but from a really solid defensive structure.
“That was probably a perfect performance today in terms of doing that.
“Of course at times we have to get better with the ball, but we have to start somewhere. We have to get the points on the board.
“I have worked with Morgan in the England pathway, so I know what he is capable of.
“I took him and his partner for breakfast on Wednesday, the day after the club turned down a bid for him from Lazio.
“It was just to see how he is and see what we can do to help him and keep him focussed on his game.
“It’s my job to continue to develop him into the player we all hope he can be.”
Nashville SC v CF Montreal: Smith knows strugglers must make home comforts count
Nashville SC coach Gary Smith knows his struggling side must make the most of their home games as they look to snap a five-match winless run against CF Montreal on Saturday.
Nashville sit a lowly 14th in the Eastern Conference standings with just eight points from nine matches, their only league victory of 2024 coming against Charlotte FC in mid-March.
They were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes last time out as the pressure on Smith intensified further, and he knows they are running out of time to turn things around.
"We're all very appreciative and understanding of the fact the home games represent the very best opportunity to earn points," Smith said.
"But I wouldn't say that I feel any more pressure than I have done for any other home game or any other fixture."
Montreal, meanwhile, have seen their preparations overshadowed by reports that star midfielder Mathieu Choiniere has requested a transfer after entering the last year of his contract.
While boss Laurent Courtois is none the wiser as to Choiniere's intentions, he is keen to see the homegrown talent stay put.
"Everyone loves Mathieu, everyone wants him to be valued, everyone wants him to stay here," Courtois said.
"Everyone wants him here to lift the club as high as possible, for as long as possible.
"There will be discussions between players and the club to improve their contractual situations everywhere, and it doesn't always need to be in the public eye.
"I don't know the accuracy of the rumour that came out. The club hasn't told me anything."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar scored with one of his six shots against San Jose last time out.
He has taken a total of 388 shots since joining MLS in 2020, 100 more than any other player in the league in that time.
CF Montreal – Bryce Duke
Montreal managed just eight shots in their scoreless draw with the Columbus Crew last time out. Only Austin FC (7.8) have averaged fewer shots per match than Montreal (9.6) in MLS this season.
Duke has created nine chances for team-mates this campaign, a tally only matched by Choiniere among Montreal players. If they are to improve their attacking output, he will have a key role to play.
MATCH PREDICTION – NASHVILLE SC
Nashville have only managed three wins in 21 MLS matches since the end of the Leagues Cup last August (10 draws, eight losses, including playoffs).
They are also winless in their last five, drawing two and losing three, but the visit of a Montreal team who do not travel well could be a boost for Smith's men.
Montreal have gone four away games without a victory, failing to score in any of their last three and conceding 10 goals throughout that run. This game may just come at a good time for the hosts.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 49.4%
CF Montreal – 23%
Draw – 27.6%
Houston Dynamo v St. Louis City: Carnell eager to get going after extended break
Bradley Carnell is eager to get going again when St. Louis City return to MLS action against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, two weeks on from their last game.
St. Louis were last in action on April 21, when Tomas Totland's last-gasp equaliser saw them claim a 3-3 draw against rivals Sporting Kansas City.
Carnell's team have only lost one of their last eight MLS games, though five of those have finished level to leave them ninth in the Western Conference standings, one point behind the Dynamo.
Speaking about the challenges of their long wait for a game, Carnell said: "The week off was nice, it gave us some time to plan and prep for the next few weeks and where we're going.
"There's going to be a ton of games so it's really important for us to do that. We can't change the calendar and it is what it is.
"We're excited about the games coming up, there's a lot of good teams among our opponents in the next couple of weeks."
Houston, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four league games including each of their last two, both of which came against Texas rivals in Austin FC (0-1) and FC Dallas (0-2).
Despite their downturn, boss Ben Olsen is choosing to remain upbeat and is certain things will turn, saying: "I can take a loss and I will say the guys gave everything, they continue to fight.
"We'll get back to work and try to make the fans proud next week.
"We prepare for St. Louis the same way we prepared for Dallas. We'll just get back to work and keep going.
"It's very early in the season. The last two games didn't go the way we want so we have to learn from it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu
Aliyu is the only Houston player with more than one goal to his name in MLS this year, netting three times. However, he has failed to score in their last three games, so he will be desperate to end that mini-drought here.
St. Louis City – Joao Klauss
Klauss is St. Louis' joint-leading scorer this season, his three goals only matched by Celio Pompeu after both players were on target against Sporting KC last time out.
The Brazilian has attempted a team-high 29 shots this term as well as creating 12 chances for team-mates, a tally only bettered by Pompeu (17).
MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
The Dynamo's first victory over St. Louis came in the second leg of this year's CONCACAF Champions Cup first round, a 1-0 home win that saw Houston into the round of 16.
St. Louis had previously gone unbeaten in the first three meetings between the teams (two wins, one draw), including winning both matches in Missouri.
After winning their first three away matches in club history last year, St. Louis have only managed three wins in 22 road trips (six draws, 13 defeats). Houston, meanwhile, have won two of their last three at Shell Energy Stadium so enter Saturday's game as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 42%
St. Louis City – 29.7%
Draw – 28.3%
Chicago Fire v New England Revolution: Acosta says composure key for misfiring hosts
Kellyn Acosta says the Chicago Fire need to be more precise with their ball progression if they are to end their barren run and begin to climb the MLS standings.
Frank Klopas' team sit 12th in the Eastern Conference and have failed to win – or even find the net – in three matches ahead of Saturday's clash with the New England Revolution.
Chicago scored nine goals in their first five MLS matches in 2024 but have since netted two in their last five, and midfielder Acosta says composure is the key to improving their attacking output.
"It's a combination of moving the ball back to front and finding our forwards," Acosta said.
"I feel like we've got to get them the ball in dangerous areas where they are bringing out their qualities, and I think we have not done a good job of progressing the ball to them."
The Revs, meanwhile, sit bottom of the East with just four points through their first nine matches under Caleb Porter, being thrashed 4-1 by a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami side last time out.
Nacho Gil has joined several other New England players on a lengthy injury list, and Porter says the team must be cautious as they navigate a route through a testing spell.
"If we're good with our planning… you can't avoid some injuries, but with soft tissue injuries, you can avoid a mistake," Porter said.
"The medical staff, the sports science staff, they'll have a plan to reintegrate these guys where they can hit the ground running."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Brian Gutierrez
The Fire failed to record a shot on target in last week's goalless draw at home to Atlanta United, the third time they have done so since the start of the 2022 campaign. No other team has done so more than once in that time.
Gutierrez was limited to the role of substitute for that game, but as Chicago's leading scorer with three league goals this year, he will surely come in to start this one.
New England Revolution – Carles Gil
Carles Gil leads all Revs players for goals (three) and chances created (27) so far this season. None of his team-mates have laid on more than 11 chances this term (Tomas Chancalay).
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
New England are winless in 17 MLS away matches (five draws, 12 defeats, including playoffs), in a run dating back to May 2023. Their longest ever winless run on the road in MLS is 18 matches between September 2016 to September 2017.
However, they may fancy their chances of taking something from Saturday's match, with Chicago only having two wins through their first 10 games of the season.
This is the sixth straight season in which they have failed to win at least three of their first 10 games of an MLS campaign. No other team in MLS history has done so in more than three straight years.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 37.7%
New England Revolution – 33.4%
Draw – 28.9%
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